Early sitters of Barbados Secondary Schools’ Entrance Examination (BSSEE) from Wesley Hall Junior School expressed a mix of joy and sadness when the coveted results of the tests came back on Monday.
Kailey King was beaming with pride after securing a spot at The Alleyne School.
“I feel good to pass for Alleyne. My mother went to school there and she told me it was a good school and they have good marks and everything. And there’s a lot of activities.”
Aria Wharton who will be going to school with her in September also expressed elation.
However, Jekobi Alleyne, who passed for The St Michael School, shared mixed feelings about his placement. “I feel happy and sad at the same time because I didn’t want to go to St Michael’s,” he admitted candidly. “I wanted to pass for Harrison College.”
Still, his teacher, Shane Griffith, was immensely proud of Jekobi and the rest of the early sitters, noting their outstanding effort and dedication. “They did a tremendous job. They would have worked hard, and I’m very, very happy about the results,” he said.
Overall, Griffith was pleased about the performance of the entire class 4 body.
“All of them did extremely well. We would have worked hard—lots of homework, lots of mock exams, constant practice, reinforcement and encouraging them. And they did it very well.”
He highlighted a creative incentive system he implemented in the classroom. “Every time you do a test and you get a little bit more, you would get a little praise. So my aim for them was not to focus on getting 99 or 97, but to do better each time. Even if we got 75 this week and 84 next week, we got a prize for that constant improvement.”
However, he cautioned that success in secondary school depends on more than just academic placement.
“To me it’s not about the school they go to,” he said. “I celebrate all of my children wherever they go. If they go to Harrison College, Queen’s College, St Michael’s, St George, Daryll Jordan—wherever—they can excel. As I tell them all the time, it is not where you go, it is what you do when you get there.”
He also encouraged parents to remain actively involved in their children’s education beyond class 4.
“Too often sometimes parents are involved in class 4 and then when they go to first form they disappear and then they reappear at fifth form. The parents have to be involved. Stick with the school, stick with the PTAs, the teachers. Know what’s going on to be really in tune so the child can do well.”
(SZB)
The post Mixed emotions for 11-Plus early sitters appeared first on Barbados Today.
